1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for hanging decorative lights, particularly rope lights from a gutter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people decorate their homes with strings of decorative lights during holiday seasons, particularly during the Christmas season. Lights can be mounted on the exterior of a house or commercial building in many ways. A large number of hooks and hangers for cords, wires, and especially Christmas lights have been proposed in the past. Many of these hooks are removable. Others are utilized for hanging Christmas lights that contemplate a permanent addition of part or all of the device to the house itself. Examples of these permanent or semi-permanent installations are: Trueson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,310, Kvarda, U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,090, Van Ess, U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,014, Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,818, and Cuva, U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,687, which all disclose various methods for mounting Christmas lights on a wire to a house. Each of the above patents requires some permanent or semi-permanent modification of the house itself, by affixing all or a portion of the device to the house. The use of these devices is time consuming and laborious, and removal is equally complicated.
Removable hooks have several important aspects, primarily ease of use and removal, combined with stability during attachment to the gutter. The use of curved or shaped hooks, both for Christmas lights and other cord fastening, is well known. A number of devices, exemplified by Bailey, U.S. Design Pat. No. 34,263, Worley, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,866,691, Parton, U.S. Design Pat. No. 272,887, and Kinghorn, U.S. Pat. No. 3,011,049, are generally useful for this purpose. None of the devices, however, are particularly adaptable for use on a gutter.
In my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141,192 and Des 331,360 disclose hooks that are particularly useful for hanging strings of decorative lights from gutters. These light holders have a ribbon-shaped body with a hook at one end of the device. The hook end is designed to retain a wire or cord portion of a string of Christmas lights, not a light socket, and is generally sized so as to accommodate at least one cord. The second end of the device has a spiral curvature with a proximal point adjacent to the body, the spiral end forming a curve whereby the spiral continues beyond the proximal point. The device is thus adapted to fit over a portion of a gutter lip. That lip is positioned between the proximal point of the spiral and the body. The device has sufficient size, shape and resilience to enable the spiral end to grip the gutter lip. The spiral end solved the primary problem with mounting a clamp or hook on a gutter. The trough of most gutters extends in a curved manner upwardly, with a boxed shaped lip having a right angle at the termination point. This peculiar shape of most gutter lips will not accommodate most C-shaped and S-shaped hooks and those that do fit over that lip are easily dislodged. The spiral extends from the underside of the lip to the exterior surface of the gutter to provide a secure attachment. The central body of this gutter hook extends straight downward from the spiral while the adjacent wall of the gutter curves inward. Consequently, the light string being held by the hook at the lower end of the body is spaced some distance away from the exterior surface of the gutter. For this reason a string of lights hung on these hooks is easily seen during daylight.
In recent years rope lights have become quite popular. These lights are a long plastic translucent or transparent tube containing spaced apart mini-lights. Depending upon the spacing of the lights such a light string may when lit appear to be a solid line of light or distinct, spaced apart points of light. Many clips known in the art for holding strings of decorative lights including the gutter hook disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,192 can also hold rope lights.
While most people put up holiday lights at the beginning of the season and take them down during the end of the season, many people would prefer to simply leave them in place throughout the year. While a few people do in fact leave holiday lights mounted on their house or commercial building year round, most people do not do this. Perhaps the primary reason that they take their lights down at the end of the season is that the lights are quite noticeable during daylight hours. Some people may also believe that exposure to weather and sunlight over the course of a year may cause damage to or shorten the life of the light strings. This concern may be particularly true for rope lights whose plastic sheath may deteriorate as a result of prolonged exposure to sunlight. Consequently, there is a need for a device that will mount rope lights in a manner that they can be kept up all year without being easily noticed and reduce or eliminate damage from prolonged exposure to sunlight.
A device is provided for mounting rope lights on a gutter has a ribbon-shaped body member having a spiral at one end. The body is contoured to match the shape of the front of a gutter and may be sized to extend from the lip at the top of the gutter to under the bottom of the gutter, or extend to any point between the top and the bottom of the gutter. There is a hook at the opposite end of the body that is sized to receive a rope light. There may also be curved portions along the body that are sized to hold the rope light against the front surface of the gutter. These curved portions are positioned to correspond to oppositely curved portions of the front face of the gutter. Consequently, the rope lights will be nested in a curve of the gutter or against the underside of the bottom of the gutter, thereby shielding the rope light from sunlight during much of the day. Placing a rope light in a concave curve of the gutter also increases the light reflected to the viewer in front of the house, allowing smaller less expensive lights to be used. Saving both initial cost and electricity during use. Preferably, the body is made of a clear, resilient plastic such as polycarbonate. A hook may be provided to mount rope lights above the top lip of the gutter or adjacent the flat portion at the top of the gutter. A hook may be provided to mount rope lights above the top lip of the gutter or adjacent the flat portion at the top of the gutter.